Attorneys Leading the Way

In recognition of her work on behalf of civil rights in Iowa, Sharon Malheiro was awarded the Cristine Wilson Medal of Equality and Justice from the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW) on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. The award recognizes Iowans whose life and work illustrate the service and dedication exemplified by Cristine Wilson, former Commission chair and a leading force in the development of Iowa’s feminist movement.

Additionally, ICSW inducted four women in the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame. The 2013 honorees included Dr. Mary Chapman, Patty Jean Poole Judge, Barbara Marie Mack and Dr. Deborah Ann Turner. The awards ceremony was held at 10 a.m. at the Iowa State Historical Museum in Des Moines.

As a senior shareholder at the Davis Brown Law Firm, Sharon practices in the areas of employment law, including employment discrimination, litigation and corporate employment policies and practices, as well as media and communication law.

In 1991, Sharon was appointed by the Iowa Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Task Force on Gender and Racial Bias in the Judicial System. After the completion of the Task Force’s report, she was asked to serve as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court’s Monitoring Committee, which was charged with ensuring that the recommendations made by the Task Force were implemented.

In 2003, Sharon acted as co-counsel for Alons v. Woodbury County, which upheld a district court decision dissolving the Vermont civil union of a same-sex couple. Several years later, in 2009, she served as an expert witness in Varnum v. Brien, a landmark case that declared the Iowa Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Additionally, Sharon served as co-counsel in Gartner v. Iowa Department of Public Health, which ruled Iowa parents in same-sex marriages must be allowed to have both of their names listed on their child’s birth certificate, consistent with Iowa’s spousal presumption of parentage.

Sharon founded One Iowa in 2005, a statewide organization seeking full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iowans, and currently chairs the One Iowa board. She also provides pro bono legal counsel for Aids Project of Central Iowa and is one of the cooperating attorneys for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.